Sepsis and Septic Shock ____________________________________________________________________________________ Policy Number: Original Effective Date: MM.02.031 06/01/2017 Lines of Business: Current Effective Date: Current Effective Date: HMO; PPO; QUEST Integration 06/01/2017 Section: Medicine Place(s) of Service: Inpatient I. Description Sepsis is defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. The 2016 Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3, from The Society of Critical Care Medicine and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine) sought to revise the 1991 derivation of sepsis as a consequence of the Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS). SIRS-based definitions were thought to excessively focus on inflammation and to offer inadequate specificity and sensitivity in the use of associated SIRS criteria (abnormalities of 2 or more of temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, white blood cell count). This policy seeks to incorporate these new sepsis definitions to increase the validity of sepsis-related claims. II. Criteria/Guidelines A. Coverage for the care of sepsis (and sepsis-related care in other diagnosis related groups) and septic shock are provided when all of the following clinical documentation elements are present: 1. Sepsis (and sepsis-related care in other diagnosis related groups) and Septic Shock a. Suspected or documented infection, and b. An acute increase of greater than or equal to 2 SOFA points as described in Appendix A. 2. Septic Shock a. Persisting hypotension requiring vasopressor medications to maintain mean arterial pressure (MAP), which is defined as the average arterial pressure during a single cardiac cycle, at least 65 mm Hg, and b. Serum lactate level more than 2 mmol/L (18 mg/dL) despite adequate volume resuscitation. B. Elements of evaluation, re-evaluation and treatment must be documented in the medical record and include all of the following: 1. Elements of evaluation and re-evaluation a. Monitoring of vital signs at least every 4 hours, in particular, blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate, and temperature, and b. Evaluation of mental status changes, and c. Monitoring of urine output, and Sepsis and Septic Shock 2 d. Assessment of organ failure through laboratory assessments including all of the following: i. Platelet count ii. Serum total bilirubin iii. Serum creatinine e. Assessment of infection source through appropriate cultures (blood, urine, and others as appropriate). 2. Elements of treatment a. Documentation of time of initiation, volume delivered, fluid type, and response to intravenous fluids (IVF), and b. Documentation of time of initiation and names of antibiotics used, and c. Documentation of type, dose, route, and response to vasopressor medications, if applicable. III. Limitations A. Examples of inappropriate use of sepsis and septic shock include the following: 1. Isolated perturbations/abnormalities of vital signs, serum lactate measurements, and white blood cell counts 2. Use of SIRS criteria at the time of presentation as the primary determinant of sepsis or septicemia, as these measurements reflect inflammation but not necessarily a dysregulated, life-threatening response to infection 3. Clinical deterioration that is not followed by reassessment and therapeutic interventions specific to sepsis reversal, including but not limited to: a. Bolus IVF administration (i.e., not simple maintenance or similar IVF) b. Initiation of vasopressor medications c. Transfer to higher level of care d. Intensification of documented clinical reassessments including more frequent vital signs measurements IV. Administrative Guidelines Precertification is not required. Documentation supporting medical necessity should be legible and maintained in the patient's medical record and made available to HMSA upon request. HMSA reserves the right to perform retrospective reviews using the above criteria to validate if services rendered met payment determination criteria. Applicable codes: CPT Codes Description R65.20 Sepsis R65.21 Septic Shock Sepsis and Septic Shock 3 V. Scientific Background The 2016 Sepsis-3 definitions shift the focus in defining sepsis from nonspecific markers of systemic inflammation (SIRS criteria) to measurements of changes in the SOFA score. An increase in the SOFA score of at least 2 is associated with in-hospital mortality of 10 percent or more. Septic shock is defined as (1) a requirement for vasopressor medications to maintain a mean arterial pressure of at least 65 mm Hg and (2) a serum lactate level more than 2 mmol/L (18 mg/dL) in the absence if hypovolemia (that is, following appropriate fluid resuscitation). This state corresponds to mortality of greater than 40 percent. The term septicemia, the acute critical illness associated with bacteria in the bloodstream (bacteremia) and/or toxins in the bloodstream, is set aside by Sepsis-3 as overly narrow. Likewise “severe sepsis” as a separate entity is now considered superfluous and not clinically useful according to the Sepsis-3 initiative. Further, the common use of 2 or more SIRS criteria to identify sepsis was “unanimously considered by the task force to be unhelpful” according to the Sepsis-3 project. The authors note that “SIRS may simply reflect an appropriate host response that is frequently adaptive” and not necessarily associated with increased mortality, need for increased clinical resources, and the significant underlying organ dysfunction that is the hallmark of sepsis. The study authors go on to document the superiority of SOFA in conferring clinical risks, compared to SIRS, based on detailed statistical analysis of more than 1.3 million clinical encounters. Similarly, author Neviere concluded in UpToDate that “the SIRS criteria are no longer used to identify those with sepsis.” The Sepsis-3 project thus centered its focus on organ dysfunction and/or failure as reflected in the SOFA score, known to be associated with mortality. The 1.3 million medical encounters cited above were examined to identify clinically important markers for organ dysfunction and mortality to generate a meaningful, valid, clinically useful SOFA score. The data were further distilled into a sequential bedside tool known as the quickSOFA (qSOFA) score to screen for the likelihood of poor outcomes typical of sepsis. This score identifies those at risk of poor outcomes when at least 2 of these are present: respiratory rate of at least 22 per minute, altered mentation, or systolic blood pressure of 100 mm Hg or less. Sepsis-3 emphasizes that these bedside measurements are not diagnostic assessments but rather indicators to escalate therapy or increase the frequency of monitoring, or to prompt consideration of possible infection in patients not previously considered infected. As qSOFA is not a diagnostic formulation, data yielded from its use should not be used as a factor in post-discharge coding decisions. The Sepsis-3 project made specific recommendations for accurate application of ICD-10 diagnostic codes (see Appendix B). In sum, the coding recommendations again emphasize replacement of SIRS-based diagnostic formulations with sepsis and septic shock diagnosis based on SOFA score changes. VI. Important Reminder The purpose of this Medical Policy is to provide a guide to coverage. This Medical Policy is not intended to dictate to providers how to practice medicine. Nothing in this Medical Policy is Sepsis and Septic Shock 4 intended to discourage or prohibit providing other medical advice or treatment deemed appropriate by the treating physician. Benefit determinations are subject to applicable member contract language. To the extent there are any conflicts between these guidelines and the contract language, the contract language will control. This Medical Policy has been developed through consideration of the medical necessity criteria under Hawaii's Patients' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities Act (Hawaii Revised Statutes § 432E-1.4), generally accepted standards of medical practice, and review of medical literature and government approval status. HMSA has determined that services not covered under this Medical Policy will not be medically necessary under Hawaii law in most cases. If a treating physician disagrees with HMSA’s determination as to medical necessity in a given case, the physician may request that HMSA reconsider the application of the medical necessity criteria to the case at issue in light of any supporting documentation. VII. References 1. Blue Cross of Idaho. Septicemia Medical Policy. MP 10.01.11 Issued 04:2012 2. Lane R. et al. High Reliability Pediatric Septic Shock Quality Improvement Initiative and Decreasing Mortality. Pediatrics Oct 2016; 138(4); e1-e9 3. Neviere R. Sepsis syndromes in adults: Epidemiology, definitions, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and prognosis. UpToDate December 2016 4. Rezaie S. Sepsis Gets an Upgrade. Emergency Physicians Monthly April 2016 5. Singer et al. The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis- 3). JAMA Feb 2016; 315(8): 801-810 Sepsis and Septic Shock 5 Appendix A Table 1. Sequential [Sepsis-Related] Organ Failure Assessment Score a Singer et al. The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3). JAMA Feb 2016; 315(8): 801-810 Score System 0 1 2 3 4 Respiration Pao2/FIO2 mm Hg (kPa) ≥400 (53.3) <400 (53.3) <300 (40) <200 (26.7) with respiratory <100 (13.3) with respiratory support support Coagulation Platelets, x103/µL ≥150 <150 <100 <50 <20 Liver Billirubin, mg/dL (µmol/L) <1.2 (20) 1.2-1.9 (20-32) 2.0-5.9 (33-101) 6.0-11.9 (102-204) >12.0 (204) Cardiovascular MAP ≥70 mm Hg MAP <70 mm Hg Dopamine <5 or Dopamine 5.1-15 or Dopamine >15 or dobutamine (any dose)b epinephrine ≤0.1 or epinephrine >0.1 or norepinephrine ≤0.1b norepinephrine >0.1b Central nervous system Glasgow Coma Scale Scorec 15 13-14 10-12 6-9 <6 Renal Creatinine, mg/dL (µmol/L) <1.2 (110) 1.2-1.9 (110-170) 2.0-3.4 (171-299) 3.5-4.9 (300-440) >5.0 (440) Urine output, mL/d <500 <200 b Abbreviations: FIO2, fraction of inspired oxygen; MAP, mean arterial pressure; Catecholamine doses are given as µg/kg/min for at least 1 hour.